Poach'D Brunch & Coffee House

Sounds ‘eggy’ enough? Well I believed it’s a nod there when you heard people mentioned poach especially at breakie time. Spotting the sneak peak of some of their menus, I couldn’t deny how it right away got myself excited to try. Those gigantic plates with rich combination of ingredients on it, served in wonderful presentation via mix of colors. Feeling much like a champion, huh?!

The spacious place was in Kemang, yup one of the centers for awesome breakfast, seemed to try challenging the other long-standing players. The venue was pretty obvious as it was there at the main road, exactly the peak of the crowd. If you’re early birds, throw away all your worries as they opened their doors as early as 6am (yeah you heard me right guys!! Now you’d better be cheerful ;) ). That might in turn have impact as they closed earlier too at the same time in pm zone. Well, I believed not a big deal as most of you must be having this type of dishes around breakfast to lunch time, right?

Having quite big space, the venue carried out kind of contemporary concept, not too much into simple coffee shop but more to a bistro-alike design. Having the coffee bar and showcase right at the center of the venue, the seats were placed at their surroundings. Individual ones were mostly facing the outdoor area which actually didn’t really give you any special scenery, but did give more chance to enjoy your own ‘namaste’ time. 

The interior itself wasn’t focusing on anything specific in my view as it had kind of cherry blossom tree at one corner, another green tree at different corner, and some murals on the walls whose pictures weren’t all in one theme IMHO. Nonetheless, bringing all of them together wasn’t a bad idea and overall the place was a quite cozy one for having my morning tummy booster. The fact that they had high ceiling and utilized it well by making more spaces through the mezzanine was creative one, also being the chance giving the view of the overall cafe ambiance. 

Hot Cappuccino (IDR 37k)

Yeay! It’s finally time for morning caffeine sip and weekend one was always the most awaited, not because of the coffee but just the feeling of able to refresh the mind and sit in relax. The coffee wasn’t bad with aromatic fragrance and medium body. Great one that the after-taste was smooth, playing its role as great starter. 

Hot Rainbow Sprinkles Latte (IDR 37k)

This one might be not mentioned on the menu, but as I saw the pictures, it captured my interest and I believed so would you. Basically it’s the same with the common coffee, just that it’s served in the paper cup with rainbow sprinkles stuck on the edge, making the presentation looked peculiar. For me, I enjoyed having the rainbow sprinkles molten together on the palate with my coffee <3. 

Texan (IDR 117k)

The breakie menu selections wanted to capture different likings; offering Aussie, French, Indian, many more even Indonesian! My pick was Texan, offering slices brisket as the owner of the spotlight, cooked lusciously in bbq sauce. The meat was juicy and tender, flavorful in every bites, though I needed to get rid of the fats as the meat did contain quite lots of the fats parts. 

To give more taste, it was complemented with marinated capsicum, jalapeno, and veggies; which basically were healthy elements but indeed seasoned very well. As the cafe’s name indicated, most menus did have eggs and this one were serving two pieces half-done sunny-side-up; whose shiny yolk were flawlessly runny! I wished the bacons added extra delicacy to the dish, but unfortunately they had a certain smell which was pretty distracting. I wasn’t sure what was it, but my sister who did taste it also felt the same. Perhaps problem with the storage I guessed, which was kinda pity as the texture was actually so good. Fortunately I still had the cheddar cheese, which I did save a bit to be enjoyed the last since I knew it wouldn’t fail me. All in all, I guessed you could’ve imagined how exciting it was to have such royal mix in a single dish!

Despite my big desire to have something sweet to end my course, sadly the only cake available in the display was only Carrot Cake. No desserts were also called out on the menu, so having solo option, I preferred not to go for it as I was also not that much into carrot cake in general. I wished I could try more of the dishes, and hopefully could get more options for the desserts as well in my following visits ;). That statement did mean see you again (hopefully real soon).

Taste: 7/10

Place: 6.5/10

Service: 6.5/10

Price: 6.5/10

Poach'D Brunch & Coffee House

Address: Jl. Kemang Raya No. 11, Jakarta

Phone: (+62 21) 719 0706

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 6am - 6pm

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Shakespreare

Please shoo away the thoughts that I’m going to write the review of Shakespeare’s books as I definitely found them pretty heavy to spend my weekend. I wouldn’t also write a poem since I simply wasn’t that talented to craft one. Then if you started to wonder what Shakespeare meant, sit down, relax, and enjoy the easy-reading paragraphs I was going to get you exposed to. 

Even prior to entering the venue, I was caught already by the glass door decoration and door handle which was in classic and elegant S shape. Opening the door, the game went strong, looking at the wall paintings, hanging lamps, order counter, and miniatures; everything seemed to complement each other in giving the impression of palace-style dining in the middle of a forest. The point to highlight was prolly the not-so-new yet still smart idea to use mirror at one of the corners, making the venue looked much bigger than it really was, giving the spacious impression at a glimpse. 

Monsieur Caramello (IDR 27k)

The one behind the menu was indeed Shakespeare-alike in crafting beautiful phrases, able to craft wonderful names for each of the foods and beverages. All  just a simple example was this Caramel Latte, which was transformed into the beverage which seemed to be originated from France. Despite the taste was fine, sorry but I had to rate it overpriced as it seemed to be similar to powder coffee I could easily find elsewhere. 

Cowabunga! (IDR 22.5k)

That shouldn’t get you discouraged though, since you still had much more to satisfy the palate. Pretty unique that they served no other dish than Gyeran-Bbang, Korean egg bread! Apparently the owner of Shakespeare was also the one having this brand, used to sell the infamous winter street food whose name was exactly the same with the brand, in several malls. Again here, this snack was served in both savory and sweet versions; and to make it complete, my friends and I went for the double strike! 

  

Starting with savory for sure, we has the combination of pepperoni, mushroom, and mozzarella stuffed together into our egg bread. I was surprised that the taste was similar to bolognaise, yet I was happy that it suited my liking very well. Each ingredient was flavorful and being mixed together, they jointly created pleasant taste to enjoy! Well yeah, the trip didn’t seem to be new combination to come together, did they?

Kitten’s Trap (IDR 22.5k)

Let’s continue with the sweet one! I was having Ovomaltine and Cheese in my mind, while sadly they only had either Kitkat and cheese or Ovomaltine and Banana. Having only those options, I finally ended up with the first. Well, still thinking it’s slightly pricey as the stuffings weren’t that abundant, but the taste was actually decent. I loved the batter best as it had the pleasant buttery flavor and the sweetness level was just precisely right. 

Kaya (IDR 18k)

If you were more into something simpler and classier, you might wanna go with their signature kaya filling. Briefly said, it’s just like those foods which could easily be everyone’s all-time favorite. Surely a new way to enjoy Kaya spread when you’re too bored to keep having it with toast. 

Just by having the quick snacking session, the place could get me hitched particularly by its interior and ambiance; classic and elegant, the dynamic duo which could hardly make you get bored. It would be awesome if they could enrich the selections of tummy companions to be served on the table :).

Taste: 7/10 (food), 6/10 (drink)

Place: 7/10

Service: 7.5/10

Price: 7/10

Thanks for reading! :)

SHAKESPEARE

Address: Ruko Golden 8 H6, Gading Serpong, Tangerang

Operating Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm, Sat - Sun 11am - 8pm

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Molecula, A Package of Awesome Presentation and Affordable Price

Hearing the name Molecula, you might have made the accurate wild guess that it had something related to molecular gastronomy. Yes, you were right if that’s what coming into your mind about this new born baby. 

I right away got hitched by the interior once reaching this house-alike cafe. It came with unique and consistent concept, mainly featuring green plants on the white walls as well as photo frames with all the menu called out on them. The peculiar fact was the menu was mentioned in the phrase that’s similar to periodic table you met in Chemistry class. 

Seemed to formerly be a house that got renovated and transformed into this cafe, the set up was really remarkable, leaving some spaces with glass ceiling where the guests could enjoy the feeling of sitting under the blue sky without being directly kissed by the sun and still accompanied by fully air-conditioned room. The showcase was right at the center, surrounded by several seats including the long one next to the window for individual visitors. 

If you just wanna breathe the fresh air, you might opt to sit outside right before the entrance, where the gorgeous instagenic green wall was also located. It’s surely not my option in the midst of this hot sunny Surabaya. 

Besides falling for the place, I was also impressed by how good the service was on my initial visit. Despite being a new kid in town, all the waiters seemed to be well-trained, knowing the ‘A to Z’ on best way to treat the coming guests. They were very knowledgeable and helpful in assisting my friend and I placing our orders as newbies who simply knew nothing about this place and what they served. 

Iced Americano (IDR 25k)

To begin the breakie set, my friend and I bet on their coffee despite we didn’t expect much as it’s indeed not their specialty. The Americano turned out fine, though it might be not that distinctive. Well for thirst quencher and morning coffee craving routine, that should be okay. 

Hot Cappuccino (IDR 28k)

Since I wasn’t into black, I opted for Cappuccino which was actually pretty milky as the beans were prolly medium roasted ones. I guessing my friend made the right choice as she could have that strong morning kick, but if you couldn’t handle non-milk coffee, you might wanna try double espresso shot ;)

Colorful Bread (IDR 35k)

If you just thought this would be kind of rainbow cake, which used to be hype, no it’s far different to that. FYI, this wasn’t close to anything sweet as well as this was savory dish featuring tuna mayo as it’s main actor. Stuffed in between whole wheat bread, it was accompanied by rich flavors coming from the combination of mascarpone, cream cheese, mustard, and ricotta. Well yeah, you could imagine well-balanced level of cheesy and creamy taste, further enriched by other toppings of prawn, egg, and onion; creating that pretty little dance of taste on the palate. 

Espresso Jelly (IDR 40k)

Shifting from savory to sweet would doubtlessly be more awesome with something in between as the ‘transition period’. Thus, the order landed on this bitter-sweet blend of espresso shot jelly, which was complemented by vanilla ice cream, hazelnut sands, and honey mixed nuts. The play of textures and flavors didn’t stop there as the molecular gastronomy concept went beyond expectation, serving espresso yolk which perfectly burst right at the first chew, and caramel foam which played its role well to blow you away by its fragrance. 

You were even given a small lipstick-alike caramel spray to add stronger scent to your dessert as desired. Despite I had to honestly admit that the taste was at moderate level and I did wish the espresso jelly had stronger coffee flavor as the yolk, I was totally impressed by the presentation and the concept of this sweet tooth!

Cold Lava (IDR 40k)

Being a bit mainstream and trying to listen to the crowd, this brownie came as my next dessert. Yep, you heard it right that it’s brownie instead of molten chocolate cake (in case you initially had the same thought as me). The brownie itself was slightly too dense for me, and since they covered the top part with dark chocolate compound, it took me quite some effort to slice the cake. 

Fortunately the pairing of chocolate sauce and vanilla Ovomaltine ice cream saved the overall judgment towards the came as they added distinctive points to this menu. I loved how the dark chocolate sauce being bold, satisfying my chocolate-craze. If you tried to find refreshing elements in the cake as you might be neither that much into cake nor a big fan of sweets, they gave you a little twist of freshness from the orange yolk and orange caviar; which boldly said I didn’t really fancy as I wasn’t a fan of chocolate-orange mix. The peanut butter sand was my top of mind, which seemed to be made of soft-grounded nuts. I was a lame for almost everything made of nuts and sincerely speaking this was top notch and impeccable complement to the chocolate taste!!

Berry Chocolate Cake (IDR 35k)

Regardless you might start getting full reading through this blogpost, please bare with me for couple of minutes as I did believe you wouldn’t want to miss this gorgeously presented chocolate cake, especially if you’re chocolate-addict just like me! With the shiny chocolate coating on top, the cake looked simple yet lavish, and most importantly tempting! I could feel it screaming from the showcase when I first spotted it there. Despite the base or the dense chocolate sponge cake itself was great, but I guessed they did have to improve the way they stored the cake as the edge was a bit dry. The chocolate ganache layers in between the batter were mesmerizing and did get me unstoppable in having my other spoon of it <3. 

Cutting the long story short, this place totally got piece of my heart left. I was so in love with the ambiance, particularly my favorite corner under the glass window where I could enjoy the sun-burst while munching my breakie and sipping my morning caffeine. Funny yet true, I even went there two days consecutively just to ensure I tried all the selections I was curious about ;). Despite the improvements required, it did deserve a ‘well-done’ appreciation!

Taste: 7/10

Place: 7.5/10

Service: 8.5/10

Price: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

MOLECULA

Address: Jl. WR Supratman No. 43, Surabaya

Phone: (+62) 822 6969 6118

Operating Hours: Tue - Fri 12pm - 9pm, Sat - Sun 11am - 9pm, Mon Closed

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